König: 'Emotional moment with Lauda, embarrassing moment with Schumacher'

For German broadcasting channel RTL, an era is coming to an end. After a long spell hosting Formula 1 broadcasts in Germany, Sky will take over from 2021. Florian König was a presenter at RTL for 25 years, so he has many memories of the Formula 1 world, including some emotional and even embarrassing moments that took place during live broadcasts.

Talking to RTL, he spoke about his experiences over the past 25 years, SpeedWeek reports. The most emotional moment for him was with Niki Lauda, who was part of the broadcasts as an expert for a long time.

Emotional moments in front of the camera

"The relationship with Niki was very important to me," says König. When he told me on camera that he would be quitting for RTL I was overwhelmed, but on the other hand I already had an inkling that it was going to happen. My first thought was, 'Shit! What's going to happen? How am I'm going to react? ' I think I then said, 'Don't fuck around!' "

Another emotional moment that occurred during a broadcast was Michael Schumacher's announcement that he would be retiring as a Formula One driver after the 2006 season.

"I couldn't continue presenting in Monza because I couldn't talk. A colleague had to intervene. I was ashamed to death," König explains.

"But now I don't find it embarrassing anymore, because I only find it embarrassing when you pretend to be perfect."